2011 Le Rocher des Violettes Cot (Malbec) Vielles Vignes

SKU #1120988

For a young man from the north of France, Xavier Weisskopf has an impressive track record in the world of wine. He went to school in Chablis, where his winemaking ambitions took flight and led to the wine school in Beaune. After earning a degree in viticulture and enology, he went to work for Château de Saint Cosme in Gigondas. It doesn't hurt that he cuts an impressive profile as a tall, handsome young man with the skills and the determination to make wines exactly as he sees fit. This determination, along with his love for the Chenin Blanc grape, informed his choice to leave the Rhone and set up shop in the Loire Valley where he farms by plow according to strict organic methods and harvests by hand.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Malbec

- These days if you're drinking a Malbec it's probably from Argentina. The most planted grape in that country, varietally-labeled Argentine Malbecs are one of the wine market's great values, prized for their slight herbal component and dark, luscious fruit. Structurally, Argentina's Malbecs are much different than those grown in the grape's native France; they are riper, fruitier and fleshier. In France, the best iterations of Malbec can be found in the Cahors, where it can be quite decadent. It is also planted in the Loire Valley, where it is called Côt and is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon or Gamay, and in Bordeaux, where it has fallen from favor in many of the region's great blends because it is difficult to grow. In the United States, the varietal is frequently added to Meritage wines - Bordeaux style blends - but it is rarely found on its own.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them. Click for a list of bestselling items from all of France.

Sub-Region:

Loire

- Of all of the French wine producing regions, the Loire might produces the greatest variety of wines. They range from still to sparkling, very dry and acidic to hearty sweet, and clear in color to a deep purple. The diversity of wine produced in this region is due in part to its dynamic climate, which ranges from Continental to Mediterranean. This region is best known for Sauvignon blanc, Chenin blanc and Cabernet Franc. The most famous areas in the Loire Valley may be Sancerre and Vouvray.